TVD Live: Lollapalooza at Grant Park, 7/29

2:59PM: Kicking Lollapalooza off with critically acclaimed British indie newcomers, Wet Leg. They take a minute to shake off their nerves after sight of the massive crowd—”This is our first festival in the US”—but soon get into their groove.

3:31PM: Perhaps you know Gata from FXX’s brilliant and hilarious show Dave, but hopefully you know him for his music as well. He’s full of pure love and positivity—and wearing a Manny’s Deli shirt and hat to show his support for (real) Chicago. He also took a moment of silence for the Highland Park, Illinois victims, and as far as I know was the only musician to do so over the course of the weekend.

3:53PM: The Regrettes are giving Chicago a dose of LA cool. Moshing is encouraged. Lars Ulrich of Metallica watches them side stage. Lydia Night flies around the stage. It’s one of the best sets of the weekend.

4:10PM: Popular festival looks this year: cowboy hats, lady mullets, cow print, crochet apparel. As always, ass is aplenty.

4:25PM: Genesis Owusu is busting out a high art performance, equipped with costumes and backup dancers. He is a presence.

5:00PM: It’s time for some hard rock, so good thing Royal Blood is ripping through their songs—and some tequila—on the Bud Seltzer Stage.

5:28PM: It’s homecoming at the Discord Stage for Muna’s Kate Gavin, who’s from Evanston and back on Illinois soil. To celebrate, they give the crowd an indie pop party.

5:59PM: The crowd at the Tito’s stage is the largest I’ve seen so far but I’m not too surprised because it’s for King Princess. Her latest album, Hold On Baby, was released yesterday.

6:23PM: En route to Glass Animals, I catch Hinds sound checking at the Bud Seltzer Sessions stage. It gets me even more excited for their Coinbase Stage set tomorrow.

7:15PM: It’s all smiles on the south end of Grant Park for Oxford’s Glass Animals. Their Dreamland tour set looks good in the early evening sunlight.

8:10PM: The DJ set I’m witnessing right now is David Solomon who, I’ve just discovered, is the CEO of Goldman Sachs. Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic is now on stage with Solomon to sing “Counting Stars.”

8:45PM: “The mushrooms are just hitting. All of you look like cartoon minions right now,” Machine Gun Kelly jokes (?) after blasting through his first three songs. “I’m here to give you the best fucking night of your life,” he discloses to deafening screams.

9:24PM: Honestly, it’s an emo wet dream up here on the north end of Grant Park. So far Machine Gun Kelly has climbed to the top of the soundboard tent, thrown down some impressive raps, blindfolded his drummer, slayed the guitar, smoked 12 cigs, and brought out special guests iann dior, glaive, and the queen herself, Avril Lavigne.

WET LEG